[size=14pt]Okorocha: Coronation of a people's man[/size]
Written by Sulaimon Olanrewaju
Wednesday, May 11, 2011


DEFEATING an incumbent in an electoral contest in Nigeria is usually a Herculean task, given the machinery of government at the disposal of the incumbent. This is even more so when such incumbent is generally believed to have acquitted himself creditably in the discharge of his responsibility. But that is what Owelle Rochas Okorocha, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) candidate in the Imo State gubernatorial election did. He worsted hard working and hard fighting governor of the state, Ikedi Ohakim of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).



[img]http://odili.net/news/source/2011/may/11/tribune/images/schoolgate[1].jpg[/img]
Rochas Foundation College, Ibadan



According to the result of the two-phase election released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) last Saturday, Okorocha scored 336,859 votes while Governor Ohakim scored 290,490 votes. Senator Ifeanyichukwu Araraume of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), polled 107,068 votes.


To many observers of Imo politics, the entry of Okorocha to the gubernatorial contest was the game changer. He is believed to be the most popular individual in the state at the moment. Thus, the platform on which he sought to become the governor was not as important as his reputation spoke volumes about his ability. Consequently, long before the April 26 date of the original election and May 6 date of the supplementary one, many people in the state had concluded that neither Ohakim's outstanding performance over the past four years nor his being from Okigwe zone would stand him in a good stead against Okorocha.


Imo is rigid when it comes to the issue of zoning. Thus ordinarily, Ohakim, who is from Okigwe zone, and was just completing his first term, or Araraume, also from Okigwe, should have been preferred to Okorocha because the governorship had been zoned to the area since 2007. But in this particular instance, the people of Imo State dumped zoning politics and cast their votes in favour of Okorocha, said to be acceptable to all the zones in the state.

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Mrs Deborah Onifade, a parent


As observed by Chief Charles Nkwocha, a community leader in Imo State, only very few people could have altered the voting pattern as Okorocha did because of the sensitivity of the people of Imo to the issue of zoning.

http://odili.net/news/source/2011/may/11/615.html

See people from Oyo sef sabi Rochas meanwhile he is supposed to be more popular in the North than Igboland or any other southern state.